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American Mafia
criminal society.}} The organization is often referred to by members as Cosa Nostra and by the government as La Cosa Nostra (LCN). The organization's name is derived from the original Mafia or Cosa nostra, the , and It is often colloquially referred to as the Italian Mafia or Italian Mob, though these terms may also apply to the separate yet related Sicilian Mafia or other . in New York's (or ), , and .}} It also emerged in other areas of the and several other major metropolitan areas (such as and ) during the late 19th century and early 20th century, and other regions of .}} It has its roots in the Sicilian Mafia but is a separate organization in the United States. , n, and other Italian criminal groups in the U.S., as well as independent Italian-American criminals, eventually merged with Sicilian Mafiosi to create the modern pan-Italian Mafia in North America. Today, the American Mafia cooperates in various criminal activities with groups, such as the Sicilian Mafia, the of , and of . The most important unit of the American Mafia is that of a " " as the various criminal organizations that make up the Mafia are known. Despite the name of "family" to describe the various units, they are not familial groupings. }}. At its peak, the American Mafia dominated organized crime in the United States. Each crime family has its own territory (except for the Five Families) and operates independently, while nationwide coordination is overseen by , which consists of the bosses of each of the strongest families. where they continue to dominate organized crime, despite the increasing numbers of other crime groups. History Origins: The Black Hand ), founder of the }} reported that the city's Second District had become overrun by "well-known and notorious Sicilian murderers, counterfeiters and burglars, who, in the last month, have formed a sort of general co-partnership or stock company for the plunder and disturbance of the city." Emigration from southern Italy to the Americas was primarily to Brazil and Argentina, and New Orleans had a heavy volume of port traffic to and from both locales.}} gradually progressing from small neighborhood operations in poor to citywide and eventually national organizations. The Black Hand was a name given to an method used in Italian neighborhoods at the turn of the 20th century. It has been sometimes mistaken for the Mafia itself, which it is not. The Black Hand was a criminal society, but there were many small Black Hand gangs. Black Hand extortion was often (wrongly) viewed as the activity of a single organization because Black Hand criminals in Italian communities throughout the United States used the same methods of extortion. Giuseppe Morello was the first known Mafia member to immigrate to the United States. He and six other Sicilians fled to New York after murdering eleven wealthy landowners, and the chancellor and a vice chancellor of a Sicilian province. He was arrested in in 1881 and extradited to Italy. New Orleans was also the site of the first possible Mafia incident in the United States that received both national and international attention. was murdered execution-style.}} It is still unclear whether Italian immigrants actually killed him, or whether it was a by nativists against the reviled underclass immigrants. Hundreds of Sicilians were arrested on mostly baseless charges, and nineteen were eventually indicted for the murder. An acquittal followed, with rumors of bribed and intimidated witnesses. On , mob after the acquittal, and proceeded to kill eleven of the nineteen defendants.}} Two were hanged, nine were shot, and the remaining eight escaped. From the 1890s to 1920 in the , founded by , were very powerful in the Little Italy of the Lower East Side. Kelly recruited some street hoodlums who later became some of the most famous crime bosses of the century such as , , and . They were often in conflict with the of the same area. There was also an influential Mafia family in East Harlem. The Neapolitan was also very active in Brooklyn. In Chicago, the 19th Ward was an Italian neighborhood that became known as the "Bloody Nineteenth" due to the frequent violence in the ward, mostly as a result of Mafia activity, s, and vendettas. Prohibition era began in the United States}} with the making it illegal to manufacture, transport, or sell alcohol. Despite these bans, there was still a very high demand for it from the public. This created an atmosphere that tolerated crime as a means to provide liquor to the public, even among the police and city politicians. Not explicitly related to Mafia involvement the murder rate during the Prohibition Era rose from 6.8 per 100,000 individuals to 9.7 and within the first three months proceeding the Eighteenth Amendment, a half million dollars in bonded whiskey was stolen from government warehouses. The profits that could be made from selling and distributing alcohol were worth the risk of punishment from the government, which had a difficult time enforcing prohibition. There were over 900,000 cases of liquor shipped to the borders of U.S. cities. Criminal gangs and politicians saw the opportunity to make fortunes and began shipping larger quantities of alcohol to U.S. cities. The majority of the alcohol was imported from Canada, the Caribbean, and the American Midwest where s manufactured illegal alcohol. 's violent rise to power in made him an ever-lasting criminal figure of the prohibition era.}} took control of Italy and waves of Italian immigrants fled to the United States. Sicilian Mafia members also fled to the United States, as Mussolini cracked down on Mafia activities in Italy.}} Most Italian immigrants resided in buildings. As a way to escape the poor lifestyle, some Italian immigrants chose to join the American Mafia. The profits from bootlegging far exceeded the traditional crimes of protection, extortion, gambling, and prostitution. The bootlegging industry organized members of these gangs before they were distinguished as today’s known families. The new industry required members at all different employment levels, such as bosses, lawyers, truckers, and even members to eliminate competitors through threat/force. Gangs hijacked each other's alcohol shipments, forcing rivals to pay them for "protection" to leave their operations alone, and armed guards almost invariably accompanied the caravans that delivered the liquor. As the violence erupted, Italians fought Irish and Jewish ethnic gangs for control of bootlegging in their respective territories. In New York City, waged war with the Irish American . In Chicago, and his massacred the , another Irish American outfit. In New York City, by the end of the 1920s, two factions of organized crime had emerged to fight for control of the criminal underworld, one led by and the other by . This caused the , which led to Masseria's murder in 1931. Maranzano then divided New York City into . Maranzano, the first leader of the American Mafia, established the code of conduct for the organization, set up the "family" divisions and structure, and established procedures for resolving disputes. In an unprecedented move, and required all families to pay tribute to him. This new role was received negatively, and Maranzano was murdered within six months on the orders of .}} Luciano was a former Masseria underling who had switched sides to Maranzano and orchestrated the killing of Masseria. Charles “Lucky” Luciano was a significant figure in the bootlegging business. He held a major stake in the black market, and realized the potential success of taking his leadership and alliances into other industries, such as the garment industry After prohibition ended in 1933, organized crime groups were confronted with an impasse and needed other ways to maintain the high profits that they had acquired throughout the 1920s. The smarter of the organized crime groups expanded into other ventures, such as unions, construction, sanitation, and drug trafficking. On the other hand, those Mafia families that neglected the need to change eventually lost power and influence and were ultimately absorbed by other groups. The Commission chart of American Mafia bosses across the country in 1963.}} As an alternative to the previous despotic Mafia practice of naming a single Mafia boss as , or "boss of all bosses," , where the bosses of the most powerful families would have equal say and vote on important matters}} and solve disputes between families. This group ruled over the and brought in an era of peace and prosperity for the American Mafia. By mid-century, which were all based in New York).}} Each family operated independently from the others and generally had exclusive territory it controlled. As opposed to the older generation of " s" such as Maranzano and Masseria, who usually worked only with fellow Italians, the "Young Turks" led by Luciano were more open to working with other groups, most notably the to achieve greater profits. The Mafia thrived by following a strict set of rules that originated in Sicily that called for an organized hierarchical structure and a that forbade its members from cooperating with the police ( ). Failure to follow any of these rules was punishable by death. Criminal empires which had expanded on bootleg money would find other avenues to continue making large sums of money. When alcohol ceased to be prohibited in 1933, the Mafia diversified its money-making criminal activities to include (both old and new): illegal gambling operations, ing, , s, drug trafficking, , and labor racketeering through control of labor unions. In the mid-20th century, the Mafia was reputed to have infiltrated many s in the United States, most notably the and . This allowed crime families to make inroads into very profitable legitimate businesses such as construction, demolition, waste management, trucking, and in the waterfront and garment industry. In addition they could raid the unions' health and pension funds, extort businesses with threats of a workers' strike and participate in . ' approval.}} In the and industries, the Mafia bribed union members to tip them off to valuable items being brought in. Mobsters would then steal these products and the stolen merchandise. in 1948}} made inroads into the casino industry in Cuba during the 1930s while the Mafia was already involved in exporting Cuban sugar and rum. When his friend became president of Cuba in 1952, several Mafia bosses were able to make legitimate investments in legalized casinos. One estimate of the number of casinos mobsters owned was no less than 19. However, when Batista was overthrown following the , his successor banned U.S. investment in the country, putting an end to the Mafia's presence in Cuba.}} Once Nevada legalized gambling, mobsters were quick to take advantage and the casino industry became very popular in Las Vegas. Since the 1940s, Mafia families from New York, Cleveland, Kansas City, Milwaukee and Chicago had interests in Las Vegas casinos. They got loans from the ' pension fund, a union they effectively controlled, and used legitimate front men to build casinos. When money came into the , hired men cash before it was recorded, then delivered it to their respective bosses. This money went unrecorded, but the amount is estimated to be in the hundreds of millions of dollars. Operating in the shadows, the Mafia faced little opposition from law enforcement. Local law enforcement agencies did not have the resources or knowledge to effectively combat organized crime committed by a secret society they were unaware existed. Many people within police forces and courts were simply bribed, while witness intimidation was also common. In 1951, a U.S. Senate committee called the determined that a "sinister criminal organization" known as the Mafia operated in the nation. Many suspected mobsters were subpoenaed for questioning, but few testified and none gave any meaningful information. In 1957, New York State Police uncovered a meeting and arrested major figures from around the country in . The event (dubbed the " ") forced the FBI to recognize organized crime as a serious problem in the United States and changed the way law enforcement investigated it. became the first Mafia member to , and provided detailed information of its inner workings and secrets.}} More importantly, he revealed Mafia's existence to the law, which enabled the to begin an aggressive assault on the Mafia's National Crime Syndicate. Following Valachi's testimony, the Mafia could no longer operate completely in the shadows. The FBI put a lot more effort and resources into organized crime actives nationwide and created the in various cities. However, while all this created more pressure on the Mafia, it did little to curb their criminal activities. Mafia involvement in the US economy , head of the Gambino crime family.}} By the late 1970s, the Mafia were involved in many industries, including betting on college sports. Several Mafia members associated with the participated in a . Rick Kuhn, , and others associated with the Lucchese crime family, manipulated the results of the games during the 1978 – 1979 basketball season. Through bribing and intimidating several members of the team, they ensured their bets on the point spread of each game would go in their favor. They created schemes to keep the money that they owed in taxes after the sale of millions of dollars' worth of wholesale petroleum. This allowed them to sell more gasoline at even lower prices. , also known as the Yuppie Don, ran and organized a gas scandal and stole over $290 million in gasoline taxes by evading the (IRS) and shutting down the gas station before government officials could make him pay what he owed. Franzese was caught in 1985. This tactic helped them grow in power and influence in many cities with big labor unions such as New York, Philadelphia, Chicago, Detroit and many others. Many members of the Mafia were enlisted in unions and even became union executives. was a Mafia group that rose to through their heavy involvement in unions. The with recent indictments of corruption involving the New Jersey Waterfront Union, the Concrete Workers Union, and the . A large concentration of Mafia owned restaurants were in New York City. Not only were they the setting of many killings and important meetings, but they were also an effective means of smuggling of drugs and other illegal goods. From 1985 to 1987, Sicilian Mafiosi in the U.S. imported an estimated $1.65 billion worth of heroin through the Al Dente Pizzeria Chain, hiding the cargo in various food products. ,}} beginning just after World War II with the opening of the first gambling resort " ". Many credit the Mafia with being a big part of the city's development in the mid 20th Century. It was through millions of dollars in capital flowing into new casino resorts that laid the foundation for further economic growth. This capital didn't come from one Mafia family alone, but many throughout the country seeking to gain even more power and wealth. Large profits from casinos, run as legitimate businesses, would help to finance many of the illegal activities of the Mafia from the 1950s into the 1980s. In the 1950s more Mafia-financed casinos were constructed, such as the , , , , and . Tourism in the city greatly increased through the 1960s and strengthened the local economy. The Nevada State government and Federal government had been working to weaken Mafia activity on . In 1969, the Nevada State Legislature passed a law that made it easier for corporations to own casinos. This brought new investors to the local economy to buy casinos from the mafia. The U.S. Congress passed the a year later. This law gave more authority to law enforcement to pursue the mafia for its illegal activities. There was a sharp decline in the mob involvement in Las Vegas in the 1980s. Through the RICO law, many in the Mafia were convicted and imprisoned. RICO Act }} (RICO Act) became federal law in 1970, it became a highly effective tool in prosecuting mobsters.}} It provides for extended criminal penalties for acts performed as part of an ongoing criminal organization. Violation of the act is punishable by up to 20 years in prison per count, up to $25,000 in fines, and the violator must forfeit all properties attained while violating the RICO Act. The RICO Act has proven to be a very powerful weapon, because it attacks the entire corrupt entity instead of individuals who can easily be replaced with other organized crime members. Between 1981 and 1992, 23 bosses from around the country were convicted under the law while between 1981 and 1988, 13 underbosses and 43 captains were convicted. Over 1000 crime family figures were convicted by 1990. While this significantly crippled many Mafia families around the country, the most powerful families continued to dominate crime in their territories, even if the new laws put more mobsters in jail and made it harder to operate. agreeing to cooperate with the FBI and turn state's evidence in 1991, he helped the FBI convict top Mafia leaders in New York.}} Although not the first Mafia member to testify against his peers, such a powerful mobster agreeing to do so set a precedent for waves of mobsters thereafter to break the code of silence to do the same; giving up information and testifying in exchange for for their crimes. Aside from avoiding long prison stretches, the FBI could put mobsters in the , changing their identities and supporting them financially for life. In the 21st century, the Mafia has continued to be involved in a broad spectrum of illegal activities. These include murder, extortion, corruption of public officials, gambling, infiltration of legitimate businesses, labor racketeering, loan sharking, schemes and schemes. Another factor contributing to the Mafia's downfall is the of Italian Americans, which left a shallower recruitment pool of new mobsters. While other criminal organizations such as the , Chinese , Mexican s and others have all grabbed a share of criminal activities, the Mafia continues to be the dominant criminal organization in these regions, partly due to its strict structure. Law enforcement is concerned with the possible resurgence of the Mafia as it regroups from the turmoil of the 1990s, although .}} In 2002 the FBI estimated that the Mafia earns $50–$90 billion a year. To avoid FBI attention and prosecution, the modern Mafia also outsources a lot of its work to other criminal groups, such as motorcycle gangs. Structure The American Mafia operates on a strict hierarchical structure. While similar to its Sicilian origins, the American Mafia's modern organizational structure was created by Salvatore Maranzano in 1931. . This signifies that they are untouchable in the criminal underworld and any harm brought to them will be met with retaliation. With the exception of associates, all mobsters are "made" official members of a crime family.}} The three highest positions make up the administration. Below the administration, there are factions each headed by a caporegime (captain), who lead a crew of soldiers and associates. They report to the administration and can be seen as equivalent to managers in a business. When a boss makes a decision, he rarely issues orders directly to workers who would carry it out, but instead passed instructions down through the . This way, the higher levels of the organization are insulated from law enforcement attention if the lower level members who actually commit the crime should be captured or investigated, providing . There are occasionally other positions in the family leadership. Frequently, ruling panels have been set up when a boss goes to jail to divide the responsibility of the family (these usually consist of three or five members). This also helps divert police attention from any one member. The family messenger and street boss were positions created by former Genovese family leader . * Boss – The is the usually reigning as a dictator, sometimes called the Don or "Godfather". The boss receives a cut of every operation taken on by every member of his family and the region's occupying family. Depending on the family, the boss may be chosen by a vote from the caporegimes of the family. In the event of a tie, the underboss must vote. In the past, all the members of a family voted on the boss, but by the late 1950s, any gathering such as that usually attracted too much attention. In practice, many of these elections are seen as having an inevitable result, such as that of in 1986. According to , a meeting was held in a basement during which all capos were searched and Gotti's men stood ominously behind them. Gotti was then proclaimed boss. * Underboss – The , usually appointed by the boss, The underboss often runs the day-to-day responsibilities of the family or oversees its most lucrative rackets. He usually gets a percentage of the family's income from the boss's cut. The underboss is usually first in line to become acting boss if the boss is imprisoned, and is also frequently seen as a logical successor. * Consigliere – The is an and sometimes seen as the boss's "right-hand man". He is used as a mediator of disputes and often acts as a representative or aide for the family in meetings with other families, rival criminal organizations, and important business associates. In practice, the consigliere is normally the third ranking member of the administration of a family and was traditionally a senior member carrying the utmost respect of the family and deeply familiar with the inner-workings of the organization. A boss will often appoint a trusted close friend or personal advisor as his official consigliere. * Caporegime (or capo) – A (also captain or skipper) a group of soldiers who report directly to him. Each crew usually contains 10–20 soldiers and many more associates. A capo is appointed by the boss and reports to him or the underboss. A captain gives a percentage of his (and his underlings') earnings to the boss and is also responsible for any tasks assigned, including murder. In labor racketeering, it is usually a capo who controls the infiltration of union locals. If a capo becomes powerful enough, In cases like they might even bypass the normal Mafia structure and lead the family when the boss dies. * Soldier (Soldato in Italian) – A and traditionally can only be of full Italian background (although today many families require men to be of only half Italian descent, on their father's side). meaning permission from a soldier's boss must be given before he is murdered. When the books are open, meaning that a family is accepting new members, a made man may recommend an up-and-coming associate to be a new soldier. usually committing crimes like assault, murder, extortion, intimidation, etc. In return, they are given profitable rackets to run by their superiors and have full access to their family's connections and power. 's (right) work with made him an important figure in developing the American Mafia.}} * Associate – An associate but works for a crime family nonetheless. Associates can include a wide range of people who work for the family. An associate can have a wide range of duties from virtually carrying out the same duties as a soldier to being a simple errand boy. This is where prospective mobsters ("connected guys") start out to prove their worth. Once a crime family is accepting new members, the best associates are evaluated and picked to become soldiers. An associate can also be a criminal who serves as a go-between or sometimes deals in drugs to keep police attention off the actual members, or they can be people the family does business with (restaurant owners, etc.) In other cases, an associate might be a corrupt delegate or businessman. although many non-Italians like , , , , , , , , and wielded extreme power within their respective crime families and carried the respect of actual Mafia members. Rituals emerged from various sources, such as confraternities and in mid-19th century Sicily and has hardly changed to this day.}} The Chief of Police of Palermo in 1875 reported that the man of honor to be initiated would be led into the presence of a group of bosses and underbosses. One of these men would prick the initiate's arm or hand and tell him to smear the blood onto a sacred image, usually a saint. The oath of loyalty would be taken as the image was burned and scattered, thus symbolizing the annihilation of traitors. This was confirmed by the first , . A hit, or murder, of a "made" man had to be approved by the leadership of his family, or retaliatory hits would be made, possibly inciting a war. In a state of war, families would "go to the mattresses"—an Italian phrase which roughly meant to go into battle. Mafia rules and customs When the boss decides to let a member into the family one will be part of a ceremony, involving the drawing of blood, swearing an oath over a gun or holy picture, and obeying the rules of the organization. In , the Mafia created customs and traditions which the members have to follow. If one breaks any of the rules they can be killed by another member of the family and usually the murder is committed by the people closest to that person. # " " – is the oath or "code of silence", never talk to the authorities. # "Ethnicity" – only men of Italian descent through their fathers' lineage are allowed to become full members ( ). Associates, partners, allies etc. have no ethnic limits. # "Family secrets" – members are not allowed to talk about family business to non-members. # "Blood for blood" – if a family member is killed by another member, no one can commit murder in revenge unless the boss gives permission. # "No fighting among members" – from fist fights to knife fights. # "Tribute" – every month, members must pay the boss, also giving the boss a cut on any side deals. # "Adultery" – members are not allowed to commit adultery with another family member's wife. # "No facial hair" – members were not allowed to grow mustaches; part of the way. is reportedly incompatible with the American Mafia code of conduct. In 1992, , acting boss of the DeCavalcante family, was killed when the family learned of his sexual relationships with other men. Law enforcement and the Mafia In some rare strict cases, conspiring to commit such a murder is punishable by death. Jewish mobster and Mafia associate was reportedly killed by his Italian peers out of fear that he would carry out a plan to kill prosecutor and thus bring unprecedented police attention to the Mafia. However, the Mafia has carried out hits on law enforcement, especially in its earlier history. New York police officer was shot by Sicilian mobsters while on duty in Sicily. A statue of him was later erected across the street from a Lucchese hangout. Cooperation with the U.S. government During World War II On the afternoon of February 9, 1942 while it was in the process of being converted into a troopship, the luxury ocean liner, Normandie, mysteriously burst into flames with 1,500 sailors and civilians on board. All but one escaped, but 128 were injured and by the next day the ship was a smoking hulk. This spectacular disaster convinced both sides to talk seriously about protecting the United States' East Coast. The Navy, the State of New York and Luciano reached a deal: in exchange for a of his sentence, Luciano promised the complete assistance of his organization in providing to the Navy. Anastasia, a Luciano ally who controlled the docks, allegedly promised no dockworker strikes during war. In preparation for the 1943 allied invasion of , Luciano allegedly provided the US military with contacts. This collaboration between the Navy and the Mafia became known as . The value of Luciano's contribution to the war effort is highly debated. In 1947, the naval officer in charge of Operation Underworld discounted the value of his wartime aid. The enemy threat to the docks, Luciano allegedly said, was manufactured by the sinking of the in New York harbor, supposedly directed by Anastasia's brother, . However, the official investigation of the ship sinking found no evidence of sabotage. On January 3, 1946, as a presumed reward for his alleged wartime "cooperation", Dewey reluctantly commuted Luciano's pandering sentence on condition that he did not resist to Italy. Plots to assassinate Fidel Castro In August 1960, Colonel Sheffield Edwards, director of the Office of Security of the (CIA), proposed the assassination of n head of state by Mafia assassins. Between August 1960 and April 1961, the CIA, with the help of the Mafia, pursued a series of plots to poison or shoot Castro. Those allegedly involved included , , , and . Recovery of murdered Mississippi civil rights workers In 2007, Linda Schiro testified in an unrelated court case that her late boyfriend, , a capo in the Colombo family, had been recruited by the FBI to help find the bodies of three civil rights workers who had been in 1964 by the Ku Klux Klan. She said that she had been with Scarpa in Mississippi at the time and had witnessed him being given a gun, and later a cash payment, by FBI agents. She testified that Scarpa had threatened a by placing a gun in the Klansman's mouth, forcing the Klansman to reveal the location of the bodies. Similar stories of Mafia involvement in recovering the bodies had been circulating for years, and had been previously published in the New York , but had never before been introduced in court. List of Mafia families The following is a list of Mafia families that have been active in the U.S. Note that some families have members and associates working in other regions as well. The organization is not limited to these regions. became leader of the . Genovese served as mentor to the future boss of the Genovese crime family .}} * ( ) * ( ) * ( ) * ( ) * ( ) * ( ) * ( ) * ( ) * ( ) * ( ) * ( ) * ( ) * The ( ) ** ** ** ** ** * ( ) * ( ) * ( ) * ( ) * ( ) * ( ) * ( ) * ( ) * ( ) References Category:Organized crime